What's the Buzz?

Are your allergies acting up? Spring flowers mean allergies for some people, and happy bees and ladybugs in the garden. My students have been making adorable garden insects and the energy in the art room has been buzzing.

Here are the happy bees the Kindergarten class made: 

Some kids added extra wings for additional flying speed.  

Kinder also worked on adorable lollipop art. This sweet bunch of kids has been fun to teach this year and I hope that I get to teach most of them when they are official first graders in August.

My first grade artists also made cheerful lollipop art. Originally, I thought of having them use watercolor paint, which would have been beautiful. But I’ll be honest: it’s May and we are all worn out, so I took a less messy route and had them use markers. Markers add a big boost of color so this was a win-win. 

The first grade also created ladybug collages out of construction paper and googly eyes. Each one turned out a little bit different.

Second grade made bees and lollipops this spring. The bees are from toilet paper rolls, covered with paper, and colored with markers. For our art show I hung some of the bees from the ceiling so that they appeared to be flying from flower to hive. The cheerful lollipops these kids created also packed a lot of punch in our show.

Third grade had three projects this spring and I am saving two for my post next month. But I want to share their bees with you now. We made wings out of pipe cleaners, and I love these happy bees.

Fourth grade made butterfly art, filling the wings with pattern.

Fifth grade created bunches of busy, buzzy bees. Each kiddo interpreted this project a little differently. Some even used hot glue to fill in the bees’ wings. Each bee has its own hexagonal piece of honeycomb. 

I’m saving the sixth graders’ recent work for my next post but rest assured, you’ll love it.

Seventh grade made beautiful butterfly collages. I asked the kids to layer pieces of origami paper, tie-dye paper and weaving paper to create unique butterflies. A few kids even made marionettes out of their butterflies and they flap their wings when you pull the strings. Each butterfly is completely different and so creative.

Eighth grade also made butterfly collages, as well as bees.

My eighth graders painted hexagonal wooden trays to resemble a honeycomb, and we made paper bees to glue inside each one. The kids really liked this project and I was delighted by their bees.

I have just a few more weeks of teaching, and I can say that it’s been a very full year. We created tons of original art and these kids impressed me with how they brought their art to life.

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On a personal note, I am thrilled to share that two of my recent paintings have been accepted into the juried Exhibition of Art at the San Diego Fair. If you are at the fair this June, stop by the Fine Art section.

Here is what my two pieces look like:

Half Moon Motel, a midcentury treasure in Los Angeles

Tower Bar, a 1932 Zig Zag Moderne building
in San Diego. 

There is such variety in the art exhibit, and something for everyone. My art was included in the fair years ago, twice. But for many years afterward, it was not accepted. That was hard on my ego, but it makes it even sweeter to be included this year. This feels like a good reminder to keep doing what you love. Sometimes your efforts will be recognized, and sometimes they won’t be, but you will know how much you’ve grown.

I have one more art post to do before the summer is in full swing, so look out for another post soon.

Until then, be sweet like a lollipop, and colorful like a ladybug. Be a team player like a bee and soar like a butterfly!